Interview with Fabio Russo, Tecnam Chief Project R&D and Product Development
Interview with Fabio Russo, Tecnam Chief Project R&D and Product Development
As the driving force behind Tecnam’s technological evolution, Chief Project R&D and Product Development Fabio Russo stands at the intersection of heritage and innovation.
Tasked with translating the legendary design philosophy of the Pascale family into next-generation aircraft, Fabio has played a pivotal role in Tecnam’s ascent to a global powerhouse in Certified General Aviation.
Q: As Chief Project R&D and Product Development, you have the task of translating the company’s vision into tangible aerodynamic realities. Having, in a sense, taken up the great engineering legacy of the “Professore” Luigi Pascale, what is the most valuable lesson you carry with you in guiding the innovation and design of future Tecnam aircraft?
F.R: The greatest question to start with! I will try to reply from the deep of my heart: I had the pleasure and the honor of being a Prof Pascale “student” for 12 years. That unique person is the exact reason why I decided that my life would have been dedicated to aircraft design: I was 13 years old (30 years ago now) when I flown for the first time with a “small” Partenavia P66 and I heard for the first time about the Prof who designed it, and many other aircraft… I made a quick check: by the time I would have turned 18, the Prof would have retired from University! So how to become his student? At that moment, I decided that I would study Aerospace Engineering and that, during or at the end of my studies, I would somehow “intercept” the professor!
This is exactly what I did: University, first pilot licenses (to eventually add good vibes for the first meeting with Prof Pascale) and, one year before graduation, ask to write my graduation dissertation at Tecnam.
It was 2005 and since then, still today, I cannot imagine a different place where having fun ehm… work!
The 12 years I spent with the Professor were an extraordinary opportunity to immerse myself with his vision and lessons about aircraft design and ground/flight testing, but also about the most important rule for an aircraft designer: do not design something which is “only beautiful”: everything needs to be there for a reason, and that reason is to be its technic role, aerodynamic effectiveness, accessibility, low weight yet robustness. Now try to pack all these features and do the magic: the full picture needs to remind the world that we are in Italy! So, make everything beautiful enough to tell worldwide what is the “Made in Italy”. This is the lesson, and I truly hope that by looking at our aircraft lines, Prof can always say from somewhere “it is a Tecnam”!
Q: Working at the pinnacle of development in a company with such a strong identity requires not only technical skills but also a deep sharing of values. How would you describe your personal and professional relationship with the Pascale family, and how do you daily balance your drive for engineering innovation with their entrepreneurial vision?
F.R: Being here for 21 years is probably an answer itself! A family of managers that allow you to focus on what makes you happy, rarely answering “no” yet providing all the required tools to work in the best environment, is a kind of rare element. Clearly, when you have to manage 600+ people and a continuously growing environment, you cannot expect
management acting as a father (Paolo) or as a brother (Giovanni) and yes, there have been some (not many!) moments of unavoidable… pure tension!
Q: Tecnam has made an extraordinary transition from the Light Sport sector to Certified General Aviation. From an R&D perspective, what have been the most complex engineering challenges in designing aircraft that not only meet the rigorous CS-23 certification standards but also continue to offer the efficiency, maneuverability, and purity of lines that customers expect from the brand?
F.R: The list is huge here! Probably your next chapter should be with Michele Oliva, my friend and colleague since the day one. We have had multiple challenges, but personally speaking I always remember two:
during 2015, the P2006T suffered a potentially devastating supply chain issue. The manufacturer of the landing gear retraction/extension hydraulic power unit communicated its intention not to supply its “pump” any longer. That communication started what I consider, still today, one of the Company success and by far one of my greatest achievement as an engineer: after managing with the supplier a “last time” procurement of 60 units, we secured in this way 10 months of aircraft production, but also set the countdown for a suitable solution: with a dozen aircraft already delivered and flying worldwide, a complete redesign of the landing gear system was not an option at all, and the need for a retrofit-capable component was essential. In 4 months, completely from scratch, often working after hours, I managed to design a hydraulic pump, to manufacture it, assembling and qualifying so that the production of P2006T wouldn’t have been jeopardized. The component is still in production and, with over 400 units manufactured and zero return or failure, has a proven field experience.
The second episode is about the “FIKI” certification of P2012 Traveller, back in 2019, you read about this in detail in the first Tecnam Magazine issue!
Q: Technological innovation in General Aviation is moving fast, with new materials, advanced avionics integration, and studies on new propulsions. Looking back, what has been the most complex design challenge that you and your team have had to face in recent years, and how did you manage to overcome it while keeping the company’s DNA intact?
F.R: I would answer in this way: everything is a challenge, but a team of few motivated people rarely surrender. We have approved numerous major design changes, hundreds of minor improvements and completely new Type Certificates, whose challenges and complexity can definitely only be noted when you look back and see what has been done! If you keep contemplating success while they are not completed yet, there is something wrong and some time is lost!
Q: Anticipation is sky-high for the new and mysterious project that Tecnam is preparing to unveil at the upcoming EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh. Without giving away the details prematurely, what strategically pushed the company in this new direction, and what does it represent for you personally, as an engineer and project leader, to see this new creation finally presented to the aviation world?
F.R: You are asking not to provide details prematurely, and it has been a real challenge doing so for more than 3 years now dedicated to the project! I will try with a sentence: “we are doing something never-seen-before in general aviation”. Something people will immediately fall in love within every detail and every square inch. This is what our Management provided as one of “core inputs” for the project, and I am sure that the aircraft will certainly confirm the intentions! What it does represent for me is quite an easy answer: it is the first and last thought of my day in the last three years. I totally fell in love with the project, with its lines, with its details and with everything surrounding it. I simply cannot wait to see the first public reactions from EAA, and from all over the world!
Q: Today, as the next generation of the Pascale family guides the company toward new commercial horizons, you coordinate a team of bright young engineers and designers. What methodological approach and philosophy do you try to pass on to these new minds to ensure that the “Tecnam touch” continues to evolve in the future?
F.R: The people mindset has changed a lot in the last 2 decades: today there is a higher grade of “job hopping” which was not typical of Italian people in the past. This is one of the post-covid effects, and it requires the organization to increase its resilience over frequent employee turnover. Nevertheless, with our management presence, passion and with a few key people always ready to pass the baton of “Tecnam touch”, it is no longer a question of “how”, rather “how far we’ll be in a few decades” together with people who will love to travel with us!
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